The Second Fantasy
by Chaotic Master
Summary: Set many, many years after the events of Final Fantasy, we now join the quest of the youth who follow in the footsteps of the legendary Light Warriors to bring peace to the world once more. Better summary inside.
1. Ch 1: The Beginning

I in no way, shape or form take credit for creation or ownership of the Final Fantasy series. That belongs to Square-Enix.

If you were here a long time ago, and you have some sort of super-human memory, you might remember this story being known as "Once Again". Well, I essentially gave up on it, out of boredom and lack of direction, but now that I've been gone for a while, have reviewed the plot of Final Fantasy more precisely, and have had the time to think the story out, I'm hoping I might do better this time. So this is truly in both plot and actuality, _The Second Fantasy_...

* * *

_"Many, many years ago, almost too long ago to be certain it occurred, chaos engulfed the land._

_The earth rotted away and died, fires fell from the sky and engulfed the world. The seas raged without mercy, and even the winds themselves seemed to turn it's back on life._

_But then, when the world was dying, and it's destruction seemed at hand..._

_Four braves souls stood up to the darkness that threatened to engulf it._

_Each wielding a corrupted orb of light, the four warriors traveled to the four shrines of the world and brought power to them once again._

_Defeating the enigma that was the source of evil itself, and finally bringing a tragic cycle to an end, the Warriors of Light granted the world a long era of peace._

_Not caring for fame and glory, they disappeared as quickly as they had come, leaving the world at the dawn of a new, grand age._

_But like everything that has ever existed, that was not absolute._

_The light of the orbs, which guide the world, slowly wane and will eventually die. Before this can happen, legend has it that one of the four will be reborn, and they will travel across the land to re-light the dying orbs._

_And save the world once more..."_

_-------------------------------------------------------_

A low grumble escaped the King's lips as he stared down at the pile of work that had to be done in a few short days. Illuminated by the candlelight were stacks of paperwork, some three feet high, which shielded the King from anyone who would've opened the door, as they would have just seen an official slaving away at his hard, wooden desk. The King preferred it that way. While he didn't believe himself to be quite an equal to his subjects, he didn't see himself as superior either, and was entirely willing to work as hard as they did to keep the Kingdom of Cornelia running. So engrossed in his work the King was, that he didn't even notice the knocking on the door until his would-be guest was close to smashing it down.

"What is it?" The King barked, closing his eyes and trying to keep himself from getting angry. He was usually much better at, having a naturally smooth and calm demeanor, but all the work lately was chipping away at his temper.

"I'm terribly sorry to bother you Your Majesty," The Chancellor apologized, stepping into the room. He was a rather tall man, with perfectly straight, neck-length, blonde hair and a long, flowing, red robe that slightly dragged along behind him. "but I was curious as to if you would be willing to accept my meager assistance. You've been working yourself too hard as of late, and you are appearing grow tired and sickly. We grow worried about you."

"No Rairott, I'm fine." The King replied, looking back down at his work. "I appreciate your gesture however."

The Chancellor frowned slightly for a moment, but quickly regained his composure. "As you wish My Lord. I however, bring other news as well."

The King looked at Rairott for a few moments, and then with a powerful, commanding voice asked "Well?"

This time, Rairott was unable to suppress his displeasure. The King however, took no notice. "It would appear the Dwarves grow tired of our war, as they have finally offered a peace treaty."

"What...?" The King sat there in disbelief. After seven years of war, he didn't quite understand how an entire nation of people would agree to a peace treaty, especially one as stubborn as the Dwarven race. "Rairott, sit down."

The Chancellor pulled a seat up in front of the desk as the King cleared some of the paperwork away. The King's chair was intentionally larger than the guest one, but Rairott was so tall that this made no difference. "I didn't believe it at first either Sire, but it seems they are quite satisfied with their decision. However, I feel it is my place to warn you, their demands are quite steep."

The King sat there staring at the Chancellor, urging him to continue.

"First, they request an amount of Gil equal to the damage done to their lands, cities and peoples. I've been told this amounts to well over fifty billion Gil." The King muttered "Preposterous" under his breath as his advisor continued. "And their second term is comparably miniscule, although I believe it to be equally ludicrous. They too believe the Journey of Rebirth will save us all from destruction, and wish for you to appoint their finest warrior as the Chosen Guardian of the Solaced."

"No. I won't have it." The King said with an undeniable tone of finality. " Tell the Dwarves that I will accept peace from them, but not on those conditions. Remind them that they are at equal fault for this war."

"I will Sire." The Chancellor nodded, and then leaned forward, lowering his voice to a whisper as if afraid the walls would hear him.. "And, if it is not above my place to ask, why do you not just attack the Dwarves? It would be uphill struggle on our own, but I'm sure you're aware that the Elven people have long since resented them. I'm sure that with the proper amount of coaxing, they can be won over to our side."

"The Elves care nothing for our wars or our people." The King said, standing up to pace the room.. "They have long since huddled up within their own lands, fighting only to keep it and nothing more. They share neither our ideals nor our beliefs, and assuming we can even get our men into their castle alive, I do not believe they will come to our aid at any time, under any circumstance."

"Your Majesty, let me speak to them. I'm certain that I will be able to convince them to--"

"And I am equally certain you will not." The King interupted, getting angry for the first time since the beginning of the meeting. "You are not my military advisor, nor my political advisor. Leave these matters to people who need worry about them. Remember your place Chancellor!"

The two stared at each other for a few moments, before Rairott finally lowered his head and mumbled "My apologies, Sire..."

At that moment, the door opened slightly, and a timid voice broke the unbearable silence in the room. "Umm, your Majesty? The council has finally arrived in its entirety, they're waiting for you in the entrance hall. As is that... mercenary you hired."

"Good. Perhaps tonight we may finally come to a decision." The King said as he strode out the door, leaving Rairott with a twisted look of anger and disgust on his face.

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Sweat poured down his face as he stood in a dead tie with his opponent. His deep, blue eyes sending out a metallic glare that assured pain and suffering would soon follow. He let out a labored grunt as he pushed his sword, along with the enemy's whom it had been entwined with, towards the ground on his left side. That obstacle out of the way, he brought his weapon back up in a lightning fast move, aiming for the head, but his opponent saw it coming and dodged low. Swinging his sword and body around in a circular movement of godly haste, the enemy attempted to sweep his opposition's feet out from under him. But he took a moment too long in his momentum-building technique, and the swing was jumped over. Crashing down on his opponent's sword, preventing it from moving, the blue eyed one raised his sword above his head and brought it crashing down with a...

Poink.

"Dammit Jayson!" His opponent muttered. "You beat me again!" Yanking his wooden blade out from opponent's feet.

"Hehe, what can I say. When you've got it, you've got it." Jayson replied with a smirk. Sheathing his wooden sword in his belt, the tall boy reached down to help his friend up. "And I, Firion, have it."

"You have something, but I doubt it's what you are referring to."

Both boys turned slowly to see a well-aged man standing in the doorway. His pale white beard contrasted with the black shirt and shawl he was wearing, and stood out against his bluish pants. A wooden walking stick was firmly placed in his right hand, which was trembling slightly from the pressure walking exerted. The three other pairs of people that were sparring in the large, rectangular training room quickly came to a halt upon noticing the nearly crippled man standing in the doorway.

"M-Master Padrone!" Jayson nearly shouted out of surprise, "I, uh, didn't see you there."

"Overconfidence breeds carelessness. Treat every opponent as if they could defeat you at will. You may be my best students, but that does not give you the right to believe yourself better than anyone else. Is that understood?" The man instructed, staring at the young man through his thick glasses with a tone of profuse disapproval in his voice.

Padrone used to be one of the militia's best men until he grew too old to fight any longer, and settled down to open his own training school. Even without knowing him personally, everyone in Cornelia held him in high regard. So much, in fact, that he was elected to the state High Council, in charge of military operations. It was the High Council's job to recommend actions to the King himself, many of which were accepted, although the Council's purpose was to advise, and they had little significant power.

"Yes Master..." The two chanted in unison.

"Good." Padrone continued on, looked around the room, and let out a loud sigh. "Free sparring time is up, and that was the last lesson I had planned today. You may leave. Class dismissed."

Chatter slowly filled the room as people gathered their things and prepared to leave the finest training school in Cornelia. The two friends headed towards the locker room to get their things discussing the session they had moments earlier, Jayson advising his friend how to improve, much to Firion's dismay.

"Where do you think you're going Kirtus!" Padrone shouted, still standing in the doorway nearly ten minutes since dismissing everyone. Some people had already left, only five people excluding Padrone, whom lived above the school, remained in the small, rectangular building.

"I'm leaving. Where do you think I'm going ya old geezer?" The large, burly teenager retorted. Jayson stepped forward and was about to do something he might of ended up regretting, butFirion grabbed him by the shoulder and held him back. Padrone's body was old, but his mind was still young, he could handle a battle of wits, especially with Kirtus.

"You know the rules. Cornelian law forbids any weaponry outside of these training schools, except under special request by the authorities. You may be the son of a noble, but that doesn't make you exempt from the law." Padrone spoke calmly, un-phased by the earlier attack against his pride. Everyone watched with a slight twinge of satisfaction as Kirtus' gaze shifted from Padrone to the floor and ultimately the window. He was obviously trying to buy some time to retaliate, when something outside caught his eye.

"What about him?" Kirtus questioned, an edge to his voice, challenging the owner of the school to come up with an answer. Everyone walked over to the window, to take a look at the 'weapon wielding mystery' the larger boy had been talking about.

A rare occurrence happened just then, Kirtus was right. Across the dirt roadway was a rather strange-looking young man, looking around as if confused on where he was. A black cloak hung from his shoulders, covering all of his body, save for his front, where the black shirt and pants was wearing could be plainly seen. And just as Kirtus had said, a sheath approximately a foot long was hanging from his waist.

"Sheesh, he must be pretty hot in THAT outfit." Came a voice from the other side of Kirtus, and thus, out of vision.

"Looks pretty pissed off too." Firion commented, referring to the large scowl on the man's face. Whoever this was, he obviously didn't want to be here. "Remind me to stay away from him."

"Damn right you'll stay away from him." Padrone lashed out at everyone within range. "He is an Elven guide hired by the Royal Family to escort the Solaced on her journey to re-light the four orbs."

"Did you say 'Elven'?" Kirtus cut Pardone off, the shakiness in his voice making it clear he was holding back a large amount of anger. It was well known that Kirtus' father had been killed in a battle against an Elf, so not even Jayson could object to his level of resentment. "What the hell is an Elf doing here! They should stay in their own damn country!"

"Calm down son." Padrone soothed, trying to sooth Kirtus' rage before he hurt someone, namely himself. "I don't like them either, but from what I've heard in the council meetings, he is an amazing woodsman, who knows the lands between here and Pravoka better than you know the back of your hand. Say what you want about that," Padrone said just as Kirtus leaned back to whisper something to his friend." but he is also an accomplished magic user, and as far as I can tell, has no qualms about attacking others..."

"Pheh, what's he gonna do? Heal me to death." Kirtus said with a sneer, referring to the fact that Elves could use only white magic effectively, which specialized in healing and support as opposed to open offense. "Bet I could take the scrawny little punk, no problem."

"Do not underestimate him..." Padrone trailed off. Somewhere between his initial warning and the present time, he had locked himself into a staring competition with this person. The brown, spectacled eyes of Padrone cutting into the seemingly lifeless, brown ones of his opponent, and vice versa. This continued for a moment until the stranger, fed up with this little game, turned around and left.

"What was that all about?" Jayson questioned the old man, whom continued to stare at the Elf until he went around the corner and out of sight.

"We met at the Council meeting last night." Padrone explained, turning to face the small crowd of now three people, as Kirtus and his friend had left. "I asked him how he planned to defend the Solaced should the need arise, one thing led to another and we ended up in a rather heated argument. I won't go into the details."

"Speaking of defending the Solaced, you're in the ballot for that Jayson, aren't you?" Eliza, the only female student of the school asked.

"I'm in it too..." Firion said dejectedly, but no one took notice.

"Well, yeah, but I doubt I'll get picked. I mean, it's traditionally a swordsman that's assigned as their guardian right? And there are plenty of better swordsmen around then me. I mean, I'm still in training after all. I just entered because I thought I'd be cool, I didn't really expect to win." Jayson explained, embarrassed that all the attention was being drawn to him.

"Do not be so certain." Padrone cut in.

"What?"

"Yes, there are many swordsmen that are better than you. But you possess something they do not." Padrone explained.

"Like what?" Firion piped in with a smirk on his face. "Not much ol' Jayson here can do that someone else can't."

"Youth." Padrone answered. "The swordsmen Jayson speaks of are slowing down in their older age. They would an excellent addition to battle if it arises, but the Solaced is young, remember, and they would only slow her down elsewhere. I'm not really supposed to tell you this, but from the way the council is talking, you stand a good chance at being chosen."

"R-Really?" Jayson asked, a sliver of disbelief in his voice. '_He's gotta be kidding me.'_

"Really, now get going. I have work to do around here, unless you want to help." Padrone said, turning back towards the closet housing the cleaning utensils.

----------------------

"So you'll be leaving tomorrow huh?" Eliza asked Jayson as they headed through the city center from a 'Going away party' they had insisted on throwing him. The sun had set long ago, and the moonlight cast some uneasy shadows around the large city. Both Firion and Jayson had agreed on escorting Eliza home, despite her demands that she didn't need it.

"For the last time, I'm not going!" Jayson shouted, profusely annoyed after what seemed like the hundredth time that question was asked. "I have as much chance of being picked as Kirtus has of winning a spelling bee."

"Well, as reluctant as I am to say that Kirtus could do that, I still say it's gonna be you." She encouraged.

"Don't be so sure," Firion said with a smug, little smirk on his face, "he has a knack for screwing stuff up."

"Sh-S-Shut up!" Jayson stammered, knowing full well he was right.

"I'll bet 10 Gil you get picked."

Before Jayson could even respond, his best friend popped in a quick "I'll take that bet", followed swiftly by a complimentary punch to the shoulder. Looking ahead to see if he could spot Eliza's house so he could split up with the two and put an end to this argument, Jayson spotted a strange orange glow filling the sky. He wasn't the only one though, as the small group slowly came to a halt, all three of it's members staring at the aura in the sky. It was no doubt the glow of a fire. And a large one by the looks of it.

"Best to stay clear of that, we'd only get in the fire team's way." Firion said, fully serious unlike everything else coming out of his mouth that night. "Guess I'm heading down Argoth Street tonight..."

"Shouldn't we check it out?" Jayson asked, his curiosity getting to him.

"We'll find out where it is later, I'm ready to turn in..." Eliza said with a long and loud yawn.

Suddenly, Jayson's eyes opened wide with realization. A look of pure fear crossed his face as he realized just what was going on.

"Wait... That's in the direction of Master Padrone's place!"

* * *

Oohh, cliffhanger. I'm not entirely sure how good of a start this is, but I believe it's sets the story up quite well. At this point, I'm afraid I must ask you to review this story, thereby allowing me to write better chapters in the future by finding out what people don't particulary like. Anyways, bye for now. 


	2. Ch 2: The Ceremony

I in no way, shape or form take credit for creation or ownership of the Final Fantasy series. That belongs to Square-Enix.

* * *

"What!" Firion exclaimed, his eyes slowly revealing that he was coming to this conclusion as well. Padrone's home and school, or at the very least, the area immediately surrounding it, was completely ablaze. 

"You think he's still there? Maybe he wasn't home." Eliza suggested, more to calm the two boys down more than anything else. "I mean, he pretty busy and all, maybe the Council was meeting tonight."

"I don't think so…" Firion muttered. The other two looked at him in a way that clearly meant, "How do you know?" He steadied his voice, knowing his friends weren't going to like what he was about to say. "The Council won't have met tonight. My Dad's on it, remember? And I know for sure he said that they weren't."

"That doesn't mean he's home, does it?" Jayson asked, his eyes never trailing away from the ominous orange glow filling a small portion of the sky. "I mean, a busy guy like Padrone, I'm sure he's got tons of stuff that he needs to do."

"I doubt it. The Council and the school is pretty much all he does. I'd bet anything he was home." Firion informed Jayson, his voice making it clear that this was as hard for him to say as it was for the others to hear.

"Well, what are you two waiting for? Let's go!" Eliza ordered, breaking into a run. The two boys quickly took off after her, Jayson getting ahead of his friend but still trailing behind the other. They skidded around a street corner, where Firion nearly knocked Jayson over because he couldn't stop in time. But half a second and a little cursing later they were up and running again, hoping and praying that their good friend was all right.

"There! Through that alley!" Jayson shouted forward to Eliza, but barely. They had been running through the Cornelian streets for a good few minutes now, and spare breath was hard to come by.

"Are you sure?" She called back, equally tired.

"Yes, it's a shortcut!" He shouted. He had taken that route many times before, his house being not too far from where they were now. It wasn't a very wide space, but it was larger than most alleyways, and they would easily be able to run through it.

"Alright…" Eliza said to herself, grabbing onto a streetlight and swinging around it, causing the candle within to shake violently, letting it's illumination dance along the street. This particular normally looked very nice, Jayson thought. It wasn't in the rich part of the city, but it wasn't in the slums either, and most people tried to preserve the beauty of the City of Dreams. But with the light flickering all over the road and houses, along with the now reddish glare covering it all, he couldn't help but it think it looked rather sinister. "Oh, sorry, sorry!"

Jayson looked ahead to see what Eliza was rambling about, when he noticed a second figure standing in the alley as she took off. The figure was dressed in a full cloak that covered him from shoulder to foot and was parted to one side, probably because of the apparent collision with Eliza, to reveal a short sheath hanging from his waist. His face was covered in shadows because of the intense light from behind him, but as Jayson ran by him he couldn't help but notice a pair of distinguishing pointy ears….

And when he pulled his gaze away from the stranger, he saw it.

The entire building was caught in the blaze, the radiance of the fire nearly blinding. A team of men, some of them apparently volunteers, lacking the bright red outfit that represented most important Cornelian positions, were working feverishly to put out the torrent of flames. Two Magi, likely the only two magic users in the city, were chanting non-stop, probably to keep the building from collapsing. Pieces of burnt wood, embers, and smoke were spiraling upwards into the air, which created almost beautiful patterns across the star-lit sky.

"This is… horrible…" Eliza muttered, her hand over her mouth in quiet shock, still gasping for air.

"There he is!" Jayson heard Firion exclaim, and for the first time in the past five minutes, he felt a glimmer of hope and happiness surge through him.

'_He's okay…'_ Jayson thought to himself, his eyes closed in relief, his mouth curving into a slight smile. He had trained under Padrone for nearly nine years, and it would have been a tragedy to lose him.

Then suddenly, a loud, "Look out!" pierced the night air, and screams soon followed it. Jayson didn't quite clearly remember what happened after that, it was all a blur. He saw Padrone was being carried out… he was panting… a Magi collapsed from exhaustion… he was moving… a pillar on the building began to shake… he was running… the men carrying him sped up… they wouldn't make it… they were getting closer… he was in the air… he hit them… a scream…

Then darkness.

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"h… e ok…"

He was floating in the darkness. He could hear the voices, and he had some control over his thoughts, but he didn't seem to be quite capable of anything else. It seemed like his brain had shut down.

"…be fi… bed r…"

But it wasn't a bad darkness though; it was rather elating. No troubles, no worries, just him and his thoughts. It was a form of bliss really.

"…e's been o… r a whil…"

But those voices wouldn't stop talking. He knew them from somewhere, he just didn't know where from. Maybe it was a friend? Yes, he recognized that voice, knew it from somewhere.

"I know he will."

Then it all came flooding back. Padrone's house was on fire, the mysterious stranger showing up, running down the street with Firion and Eliza, even the snack he'd had at the café. He opened his eyes, quickly shut them, and started opening them again slowly. The light was too bright from him to handle right now.

"I think he's coming around!"

Light from the room slowly started to flood into his eyes, things started assuming colors, the colors split apart to form basic shapes, which in turn became more and more complex as patterns formed. His wardrobe in the corner of the room, his poster of the Conquerors, his favorite Blitzball team, hanging on the wall, everything started flooding back. And finally, after what felt like an eternity, he recognized two familiar faces leaning over him.

"Ugh… Hey guys." Jayson tried to smile, although he figured it must've only come up as a weak grin. He started to sit up, his arm buckled underneath him and he nearly fell back onto his bed, but Firion and Eliza caught him, propping him against the backboard. "Uh… How long was I out? What happened?"

"Well, in what was either heroism or stupidity, you--" Firion started, but was promptly cut off by Eliza saying, "Not now, eat first" as she handed Jayson a bowl of hot soup. He didn't feel much like eating, but he thought that whatever had happened, he probably needed the food. After the first few mouthfuls however, his appetite returned in full force, and he gulped down the soup in what must've been record time.

"Okay," He said a few minutes later, setting the bowl down on the table beside him, feeling quite rejuvenated, "tell me what happened and how long I've been out."

"You've only been out for the night, so don't worry about that." Eliza explained. "A support pillar on Padrone's house collapsed under the stress of the fire, and out of what I can only assume was instinct, you dived into him and too others to get them out of the way."

"Are they okay?" He asked.

"Well, you took a nasty bump to the head, as you may have noticed." Firion said with what was a sort of half-grin playing on his face. "The two guys carrying him managed to roll out of the way. But Padrone…"

"What… What happened…?" Jayson asked, almost afraid of the answer he might get.

"Don't worry, he's fine!" Eliza blurted out, foreseeing Jayson's reaction. "He's okay. For the most part…"

"His leg got caught under the pillar, completely crushed it." Firion said solemnly, pounding his open hand into the other in a rather disturbing manner. "And, the doctors think he may have suffered some brain damage from all the smoke…"

"What's that mean?" He asked, still being cautious about the subject. This had the potential to turn very bad.

"Well, he keeps saying that when the fire was about to reach him, he saw a flash of light, heard a hissing sound, and then the fire in front of him disappeared, leaving a pool of water behind." Firion continued. "Don't look at me like that. I'm as reluctant to say he's crazy as you are, but his story makes no sense. The fire itself was hard enough to explain, but then it just melting away to water. He's a pretty old man; he might be finally going senile."

"Maybe…" Jayson muttered, his eyes drifting down towards the floor. He suddenly wished he hadn't accepted that soup.

"But every cloud as a silver lining." Firion said, his face suddenly shifting from an anxious frown to a victorious grin.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Jayson asked, disgusted. "Padrone may never walk again, and you're happy about it?"

"Of course not you idiot." He continued, pulling a long, sealed envelope out of his back pocket and tossed it by Jaysons feet. "Arrived in your mailbox not even ten minutes ago. Got a pretty important looking seal on it, and if I remember correctly, the one goes on letters that came from the King himself. Guess what that means?"

Jayson just stared at the piece of paper sitting at the end of his bed, its folded design meant to conceal its contents. At least that's what it felt like it was for, as he reached out with a slightly shaky hand towards the letter. And as he brought it back and started to rip open the top, he came to the conclusion that Seers from ages ago foresaw this moment and invented envelopes for the sole purpose of keeping him in an agonizing suspense. Finally, he pulled the letter out, and proceeded to stare at its folded up form for a few moments. Even it seemed to have a mystic glow around it.

"I hate to ruin the moment," Firion interrupted. His grin had, for some reason, receded to an anxious smile, "but can you hurry this up?"

Jayson slowly unfolded the letter, and struggled to read it aloud, the butterflies in his stomach going nuts.

"_To Jayson Godwin,_

_Through much deliberation and trial, the High Council of Cornelia, in concordance with his Royal Majesty, King Steven III, has made its decision in regards to the position of the Guardian of the Solaced. We, the High Council, have come to the conclusion based on the evidence laid before us, that you would be the most suiting choice for this coveted title._

_The appointment ceremony will take place one week from the time this letter was written, June 15, at 2 o'clock in the afternoon, in the Coronation Hall of Castle Cornelia. You are expected to be there by 9 o'clock that morning to begin preparations."_

"Then it just lists the Councilors…" Jayson muttered incredulously, his eyes wide with excitement. _'I don't believe this…'_

"Ha! I told you it'd be you! I told you!" Eliza shouted, unable to contain her excitement anymore.

"Well, well. Looks like I owe you ten Gil Liz." Firion admitted, a twinge of defeat in his voice.

----------------------

The next week of Jayson's life was simultaneously the most exciting and the most boring. The excitement came from knowing exactly what was going to happen one morning when he woke up. The boredom stemmed from knowing how exactly how long it would take for it to happen. Amazing how the speed at which time moves is always the exact opposite of what you want it to be. Jayson hardly slept at night, despite knowing that he'd be leaving soon after the ceremony was over, and that he'd need all the rest he could get. Yet dreams of glory kept floating his mind late at night. Dreams of him in solid red armor, a glittering sword at his side, surrounded by people all wanting to worship him as much as the Solaced. The Guardian who would bring it all together…

Padrone was making a speedy recovery as well. Because of what could be attributed to good physical health throughout his life, or his natural tendency to not die, the groups teacher was up and walking within three days, albeit with a little bit of help from some crutches. He'd constantly wince in pain, having accidentally let his leg touch something, but he'd let the pain kill him before he accepted help, and was soon off at double his original speed to prove he could handle it. He was staying at Firions house, it being the largest and the closest to Padrone's old home, and two days before the ceremony was scheduled to take place, he pulled Jayson aside as he and Eliza started to leave.

"What is it Master?" Jayson asked with a grin. He couldn't help but smile nowadays.

"I've told you, I'm no longer your teacher. Stop calling me that, it's quite annoying." Padrone criticized. He was old, with poor eyesight and could barely walk under the best of conditions, yet he still managed to find a way to make other people feel inferior to him. It was a natural talent at his age.

"Yes M- I mean… Sir?" He asked, hoping he picked the right title.

"That's… Oh, never mind…anyway, they've managed to salvage some of the things from what's left of my home." He eyes glazed over for a moment as he stood lost in thought, but he quickly continued. "And they've brought what they found here, mostly partially burned portraits and certificates and the like, but they managed to find a few of my swords. I want you to go to the guest room and pick out one you like. We all know you'll be needing it more than I will…"

And pick he did. After about half an hour of testing out all the different blades, Jayson finally chose a simple steel sword. The blade itself was double-edged and about two and a half feet long, ending in a gold colored hilt that fit easily in his palm. It was a bit heavier than what he was used to, but it was the sharpest sword there, and it's not like he wouldn't have time to get the feel of it. It was going to be a long journey after all.

His friends changed somewhat after hearing the news as well. Eliza, who was normally a fairly quiet person, became more energetic and overall happy over the news. While Firion took the exact opposite route, toning down his humor and wit to an almost depressed level. In fact, Jayson noticed that Firion didn't even seem to look him in the eye anymore, and it was almost like he was trying to avoid talking with him. But, with the fact that the ceremony was almost upon him, and he was in the best mood he could remember, he didn't really take much notice.

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"A Mr. Godwin I presume?"

It had been a long week, but it was finally time. He hadn't slept at all last night, what with the "official" good-bye party that was thrown for him, as well as the restlessness that accompanied the following days plans. Yet he felt wide-awake, like nothing in this world could mess up his day.

"Yeah, that's me." Jayson replied to the castle guard in front of him. The guard merely nodded, mumbled a simple "Follow me" and led Jayson inside the castle.

It was more beautiful that he could have ever imagined. A red carpet stretched all the way down a long marble hallway, with elaborate paintings of past rulers decorating almost all the available wall space. The ceiling was at least twenty feet high for most of the corridor, save for the end, where it suddenly dropped down to a normal level. Hanging on this was an extremely large portrait of King Argoth II, the ruler during the time of the Light Warriors, who had commissioned the Bridge of New Day's Dawn. The guard led him down this hallway for a moment or two before veering off to the left, down an equally extravagant path ending in a large, polished wooden door. The guard shoved the door open with an audible grunt, and it gave way to the largest room Jayson had ever seen.

It was at least twice as tall as the hallway outside, and far, far wider, with a fine, red carpet covering every square inch of the floor. The first thing that caught your eye was the mass amount of banners and drapes hanging from at the far side of the room around a raised platform, where many people were working feverishly to see this ceremony go smoothly. Once you let your eyes wander however, you saw something even more amazing.

On both sides of the room were two huge statues, four in all, each as tall as the room itself and carved to complete perfection. On his far right was a swordsman, dressed in heavy armor, and who appeared to be in the process of drawing his sword, his stone eyes showing a ferocious battle spirit. To his left was a powerful looking man in a long flowing vest, his flawlessly straight hair held back in a ponytail, as he too held a pose that made it seem like a battle was drawing near. He carried no weapons, but Jayson could tell, even though the statue might've been exaggerated, that this wasn't the type of person who needed one. On the other side of the room stood a man, or it might've been a woman, he couldn't tell, because their figure was cloaked in a long flowing robe. A tall, pointed hat stood atop their head, and that entire body part had no excess details on it at all, save for the piercing eyes that peaked out from beneath their clothing. To the left of that, in the far corner of the room, was the most majestic looking statue of them all. A thin sword hung at her waist, nearly covered by the billowing cloak around her. A fancy hat was perched on her beautiful face, the feather that was sticking out of it only adding to her graceful appearance. Jayson knew who these people were from the moment he saw them.

They were the Light Warriors.

"Quit gawking and come on." Jayson snapped back to reality as the guard spoke, and quickly followed him through the busy crowd. They made their way to a door just beside the stage, and passed through it quietly into a much smaller, L-shaped room, where everything seemed to be covered in a deep red color. A few female voices echoed from around the corner, and the guard came to an abrupt halt.

"He's here." He said simply, and the voices came to a stop. A young woman stepped into view, dressed in an elegant red gown, her black hair running all the way down her back in an elaborate fashion, and her eyes seemed to analyze Jayson on first glance. She was the Princess of Cornelia.

"It is about time." She said swiftly.

"My apologies your Highness." The guard said, as he bowed slightly and backed out of the room. Jayson, who also had bowed his head slightly, thought she was being a bit harsh. But then again, he didn't have to deal with the stress that training to be Queen undoubtedly came with, so he let it slide.

"Calida, it's okay." The Princess called around the corner to the other person in the room. "You don't have to stay out of the way, it's not business this time. In fact, I think you should meet this young man."

A bushel of bright red hair popped out from around the corner, two blue eyes peering out from behind it. The girl named Calida stepped out from behind the corner, revealing the beautifully decorated white robe she was wearing. She was a lot smaller than Jayson, and nearly a head shorter, but she still seemed to carry an aura of power with her.

"So this is him?" She asked. Her voice was quite calming.

"Unless my guard lied to me, than yes." The Princess replied. There was no sarcasm in her voice.

"I see. He seems capable." Calida commented, looking at Jayson from head to toe. He didn't know what was going on, but he quickly formulated the idea that he shouldn't complain and just go along with it.

"We shall hope so. Jayson is you name, correct?" The Princess asked, looking him square in the eye. Jayson didn't think he would've been able to lie under that look if his life depended on it.

"Yes, your Majesty." He said a bit nervously.

"Well then Jayson, I'd like to introduce you to Calida," She said, looking towards her friend, and back at Jayson, "Solaced of Light."

He tried hard not to shout out his surprise. All his life he was taught that Solaced was the one who would use divine powers to save the world from the brink of destruction, something no other person in the world could do. But as she stood there in front of him, she seemed so… human.

"Is something wrong?" Calida asked, tilting her head a bit.

"N-no, it's nothing important." He said, somewhat embarrassed.

"It's understandable. Many people want to meet you Calida, and they may be overwhelmed when they do, for you are a source of great inspiration and hope throughout this land." Calida visibly blushed at this comment. " But we have no more time to waste. There is much to be done, and barely enough time to do it. I will have the guards direct you to the man who will help you prepare Jayson, and Calida, you will come with me. Now let us hurry."

----------------------

Jayson wished he knew how much longer this ceremony was supposed to take. He was late by half an hour because they couldn't manage to keep the ceremonial armor from sliding off him, and they only managed to solve that problem because they were later informed that it did in fact come in another size. He then rushed towards the hall at top speed, hitting dead ends at least twice, only to be told that he wasn't due yet. So there he was, sitting in the Waiting Room for what he guessed had been at least two hours, after supposedly being half an hour late, wondering when this would be over so he could take the stupidly hot armor off.

'_And how did they expect people to fight in this…?" _He thought to himself, wiping his brow on his pant leg, the only piece of material he has managed to find. The guard in the room seemed to know what he was thinking, as he offered him a small smirk that plainly said, "Hot isn't it?". Jayson only managed to nod before a well-dressed man peeked into the room.

"It's time."

The wide doors into the hall opened for a second time before him, and this time it was just as impressive. What must have been thousands of people inside the hall, all dressed in the finest of clothing, and all of them watching him silently as he walked down the path between the two masses. It must've been only about a fifty-foot walk, but Jayson quietly wished someone would do something to pull the attention off of him.

'_What are you talking about?_ The voice inside his head reminded him. _'You earned this.'_

After what felt like an eternity, he finally reached the main stage, where Calida and the Princess were both waiting for him, each on one side of the King, who sat on a richly decorated throne that certainly wasn't there during Jayson's first trip through the room. He climbed the stairs on the front of the stage, and remembering what he was told to do, knelt down in the middle of the stage. The Princess was the first to step forth, carrying a short, golden scepter, which she placed on his right shoulder.

"Jayson Gowin," Her voice rang throughout the hall, "do you, from this moment forth, swear to carry out the duties that are asked of you?"

"I do." He said. It was one of his very few lines in this whole procedure, so it was easy enough to remember.

"Do you swear to bear the burden of responsibility we bestow upon you?"

"I do."

"And do you swear to be loyal to the Cornelian crown, his Majesty the King, and the people of this land? Do you swear to fight only for the sake of these people, that you will never be lead under the banner of another?"

"I do."

The Princess removed the scepter from his shoulder, took a few steps back, and handed it to Calida. The Solaced then came forth, much in the same manner as the Princess had, and placed the scepter back on him, this time on his left shoulder. Murmurs arose from the crowd as Calida came into a more prominent view. Apparently, some people still couldn't believe that the Solaced had finally come.

"Jason Godwin," Calida echoed the Princess. Her voice was much quieter, but she still commanded respect, perhaps because people knew who she was, "do you swear that you will protect me with all of your strength, through life and death?"

"I will." Jayson said, much louder than before. His voice had been getting noticeably quieter with the repetition of his lines, and he quickly realized that he needed to speak up.

"Do you swear that whatever trial we face and whatever hardship we endure, that you will remain loyal to me and faithful to your duty?

"I will."

"And do you swear to do everything in your power to guide me safely to the four Orbs of Light, and in turn, the salvation of the world?"

"I will." Jayson said for a final time.

Calida stepped back, and for the first time since Jayson came in, the King rose to his feet. He was a much larger than looked from the aisle, taller than both girls beside him, and considerably wider as well. He had the look of an athletic man who had completely gone to seed, of a man who couldn't possibly rule a kingdom. But when he spoke, there was such a commanding power in his voice that you couldn't explain, and there was suddenly no doubt that this man was the ruler of all Cornelia.

"Jayson Godwin. You came before us a simple man, who wished to do his part towards a greater cause. Now, your efforts are realized. You knelt before us Jason Godwin, a student under the guidance of the esteemed Sir Arthur Padrone. And now you rise before us, **Sir** Jayson Godwin, Guardian of her holiness, the Solaced of Light, and honorary Knight of the Cornelian kingdom!"

The King sat back down as Jayson rose to a standing ovation from the crowd behind him, a perplexed look on his face.

'_I get knighted too…?'_

----------------------

The ceremony had ended over an hour ago, but many people had decided to stay for the celebration afterwards. Jayson had been mobbed ever since he stepped off the stage, and he didn't have any time to go find his friends. He had almost given up hope that they were even still there, when a familiar voice cut through the crowd.

"Alright, leave 'em alone! Give the guy a break, he's had a big day!"

The fledgling Knight couldn't help but smile as Firion pushed his way through the throngs of people around him, and led him away, telling off anyone who tried to get close. Finally, they reached the corner of the room where Eliza was waiting, wearing a dress for the first time in Jayson's memory.

"Well… I don't know what to say. Way to go." She said with an honest smirk, her cheeks red from the amount of heat in the room.

"Thanks. Um, you look nice." Jayson complimented, also not knowing what the heck was expected to say.

"Oh, uh, thanks." She replied, turning a slightly deeper shade of red.

"Yeah, I'm impressed too." Firion piped up, an unmistakable grin on his face. Eliza saw it, and knowing him for as long as she had, was a bit skeptical.

"What do you mean?" The girl asked suspiciously.

"I mean, this is the first time you've ever actually looked like a girl." Firion joked, and Jayson couldn't help but chuckle a bit. Eliza's cheek color quickly deepened dramatically, and as quick as lightning, she hit Firion on the head while giving him a look that could kill.

"Jayson! There you are!"

The three of them turned around to see Calida and the Elven man Padrone had spoken of earlier coming towards them, he was still wearing a dark cloak, but it was pushed back, and he looked like he had at least tried to appear decent for this event. Jayson's friends took it as a sign to leave, saying they would meet him at the main gates to next day to say goodbye because he had more important things to do tonight than talk to them. He didn't really agree with that, but if it was what they wanted to do, then it was their choice.

"I've been looking all over for you, I don't think you two have met." She said, gesturing towards the Elf. "Jayson, this is Dau'Mahl. He's going to be our guide on the journey."

Jayson reluctantly extended his arm to shake hands, his eyes not leaving Dau'Mahl's face. The Elf stared down at his hand for a moment, then shook it with what was obviously an equal amount of reluctance. Once they released, Dau'Mahl took a step back and just stared towards the door, not looking at the other two.

"I think he's just being shy." Calida whispered to Jayson, but quickly regained her normal voice level, which wasn't really all that louder. "Well, Dau'Mahl was nice enough to reserve us the best room in the inn down the street. Once we're there, we'll decide where we're going first, and of course, get a good night sleep."

"If you're ready, we should be going. It's getting dark." The Elf finally spoke. His voice was as quiet as Calida's, but there was something different about it. His voice didn't seem have the same amount of life in it, and it was somewhat creepy.

"Yes, you're right." Calida realized, looking out the window to see that the sun was almost gone. "C'mon, let's go!"

"Gotta admire her enthusiasm." Dau'Mahl said to no one in particular as Calida bounded away and out the door, following after her a moment later, leaving Jayson alone. It was now that the impact of everything that had happened in the past few hours finally hit him, and he couldn't help but smile. He was going on the Journey of Rebirth. Soon enough, the four Orbs would shine again, spreading light throughout the world and staving off any darkness that threatens to engulf it.

And he would be a part of it.

* * *

Phew... Please, never ask me to write another chapter this long again... I only kept going because this seemed like the best place to end it, and it means we actually get to start the journey next chapter. And anyways, now comes the time when I respond to the reviews I've been given. It's my way of letting you know I care. :) That, and I can cover up mistakes to make myself seem less stupid. >>

**Fatalis Prime **- Thanks. And yes, I am aware that the Light Warriors quest technically never happened, but I the concept of the story was too heavily determined when I found out, and no matter how hard I try, I can't work the story with the Light Warriors being a legend. It's not ignorance, just... creative liberties.

So, I'm pretty drained from writing this, and now the story is going to get a bit tougher to write. Here's hoping I can keep my willpower up.


	3. Ch 3: The Journey Begins

I in no way, shape or form take credit for creation or ownership of the Final Fantasy series. That belongs to Square-Enix.

* * *

It was time.

Jayson stood before the north gate of Cornelia, saying his final good-byes there for some time. It was a beautiful summer day, the kind of day that just seems to radiate a quiet calmness throughout the world, the kind that made you believe that you couldn't ask for a better one. The sun hung lazily over the cloudless sky; it's rays reflecting off his lightweight armor and the sheathed sword that hung at his waist. The City of Dreams, with its many buildings and homes built closely together up the slope of a low rolling hill, the Castle of Dreams standing proudly on it's zenith, also seemed to be glittering it the morning light, making it an even more spectacular sight to behold. He felt a strong wretch in his stomach as he remembered that this would be the last time he would see it in a long time.

"You be careful okay?" Eliza said with a tone of sincere concern. Her eyes starting to glaze over a little bit, it was obvious she was trying hard not to cry.

"Yeah, you bring your ass back here in one piece, alright." Firion added, with a playful smirk that meant he was being serious, but trying to keep the mood light.

"Of course I'll be careful. You guys know me!" Jayson replied with an equally playful grin, enjoying his last few moment with his friends.

"That's what worries me…" Firion said, getting a quick slap on the head from both Jayson and Eliza for it. "Ow… I was kidding…"

Dau'Mahl, still dressed in his black cloak, (Jayson wondered if he ever took it off) watched the three people standing around, laughing, and enjoying themselves, despite the fact that their group would be one person smaller within ten minutes. An image flashed through his mind of his own goodbye, of when he had to leave his "home" and he shut his eyes to try and block it out. _'Get out my head…'_ He willed the memory to leave with everything he had, because it only hurt to remember those few minutes. So intense was his concentration that, even with his natural alertness, he didn't notice a hunched-over figure slowly approach him, stop about a foot away, and turn to face the small group as well. A minute later, he finally came back to reality, and recognized the man beside him.

"Cautious to the very end, aren't you?" He said, tilting his head slightly to look into the deep, brown eyes of a much older man.

"I like to think so." Padrone replied, looking around to make sure no one could hear them.

"I thought we had come to an agreement on this." The Elf said bluntly, looking back towards Jayson's group of friends, who were now being entertained by Firion's impersonation of Jayson tripping over a rock and somehow dooming the world.

"Just because I accept something doesn't mean I have to like it." The elderly man retorted, "I don't trust you, especially with what you've done."

"I gave you my reasons for that."

"That's a motive, not a justification. You went too far."

"And what do you plan to accomplish by chastising me now?" Dau'Mahl asked, shifting slightly. "What's done is done."

"I hope to at least find out that you feel remorse." Padrone said, "I'd sleep better at night if I knew the Solaced wasn't under the protection of a heartless mu--"

"My only regret," The Elf cut off Padrone, a sliver of anger in his voice, "is that I didn't finish what I started."

"That's it? You regret nothing else" Padrone inquired, slightly astonished.

"I… regret the consequences as well…" Dau'Mahl muttered, his eyes faltering.

"Well, I suppose that's the best I'm going get out of you." Padrone said in an off-hand way. Dau'Mahl didn't reply.

Whilst all this was happening, two people, one a young woman and the other a young girl no older than sixteen were chatting about the upcoming journey, hidden slightly in an alley. The older girl was hidden under a heavy, dark hooded cloak that made sure no one would see, or at the very least, recognize her, while the other was dressed in a simple white robe that stopped just above her ankles, revealing her sandaled feet. Brushing a thick strand of her blazing red hair to one side, the younger girl pulled the hood aside slightly to look at the elder of the two.

"Are you sure it's okay for you to be here?" She asked, in a tone of worry that might have been a bit much for the situation.

"Don't worry Calida," Was the reply of the Princess, removing the Solaced's hand to adjust the hood, "No one will know I'm gone, I know how to get in and out of the castle without being seen. I said I was taking a bath, and that I wanted to be alone, so only someone very brave or very stupid will go looking for me. It'll be alright."

"If you say so…" She said with a voice that still had a trace of worry in it.

"I know it's somewhat unorthodox, but I felt the need to say farewell in person. I hate using messengers…" A small grimace crossed her face as she spoke.

"You didn't need to do this just for me. A messenger would have been fine." Calida stammered, her cheeks taking on a slightly reddish hue.

"No, don't worry about it." She re-assured the girl who had become her friend despite their relatively short time together, "I didn't get a chance after the ceremony, and this was the only time left. I wish I could stay longer, but…"

"You have to leave already?" She asked,

"Yes. I'm sorry, but I should be getting back soon. It will take me a little while to get to the castle, and I've been in the bath for about an hour so far." The Princess said with a rare smile on her face, then she turned quickly, and disappeared back down the alley she emerged from minutes earlier. "Goodbye Solaced, and good luck."

"Goodbye…" Calida muttered, watching her run off. Her eyes stung a bit, because she knew this might be the last time they met, but she was quickly brought to her senses when a sudden movement to her left startled her.

"Are you ready to leave?"

Calida breathed a silent sigh of relief as the familiar, albeit somewhat unnerving, frame of Dau'Mahl turned out to be the movement she saw. He had a slightly angry look on his face, and his cold voice earlier had made it clear, intentionally or not, what the answer he wanted was.

"Y-yes, of course, I'm ready when you are." She replied, shaken up a bit. Whether it was because the Elf had been able to approach her without making a sound, or because the Princess who had been so kind to her for the past week was almost caught out of the palace, she couldn't tell. The young girl simply followed Dau'Mahl over to where Jayson was chatting with his friends.

"We're leaving." His voice, though quiet and withdrawn, seemed to ring through the trio, practically forcing them all to acknowledge his presence. There was something about Dau'Mahl that made you listen when he spoke.

"Well… This is it buddy." Firion said grimly, extending his hand. Jayson wasted no time in returning the gesture, and pulled his long time friend in closer for a quick hug. Once he let go, Eliza was there quickly after, giving him an equally heartfelt embrace.

"I'm not saying good-bye, just good luck." She said, as he pulled away, not wanting to delay the trip any longer. As much as he wanted to stay there with his friends, head down to their favorite café on the corner and enjoy the perfect day, a part of him wanted to leave on the journey right then and there. Certainly not because of his friends, but because of the slight hope that had been deep inside him for half the year, as well as the excitement that had been welling up inside him for the past week.

"See you two later then." He flashed a quick smile as he spoke, and then hurried off to catch up with Calida and Dau'Mahl who were already out the gate and heading northwest. They had decided first to head to the Chaos Shrine, where the powers of all four orbs congregated. "Decided", Jayson thought, was too strong a term. Calida had more or less informed them the night before that she had to go to the shrine to receive a blessing from Munen, the God who had created the earth and all life on it, before she would have the power to re-light the orbs.

So left with little choice, the group headed through the Serine Forest that almost surrounded Cornelia, except for a gap in front of it's southern gate. The winds peacefully blew through the leaves and his hair, giving him an elated feeling of calmness and creating a soothing sound as it whistled slightly through the trees. Calida, who was just ahead of Jayson and slightly behind Dau'Mahl, was softly and beautifully singing a song he hadn't heard before, and one he most definitely wouldn't mind hearing again.

Beyond that, they mostly traveled in silence. Calida was busy singing, and Jayson didn't want to interrupt her, nor did her humbling presence made it any easier to speak up. He wasn't really interested in talking to Dau'Mahl, and Calida only asked one or two questions before she gave up due to his taciturn responses. This all worked out actually, because the Elf, it seemed, had no particular interest in talking to them. Save for warning Calida about an out-growing root or a low hanging branch, he mostly kept to himself, leading them towards the shrine. The animosity that had been building up between Elves and humans in recent years was, as it seemed, quite strong even in such a small group.

Except for a short while where they had to pass through Dwarven territory, it was a relatively uneventful trip. The outskirts of the Dwarven land was situated in a sort of crossroads, with grassy plains to the north and south, a small mountain range to the east, and worn lands that once had been proud peaks like those it faced lay on the west. That passage, known as Fallen Crest, was where the armies would travel through, should either side choose to attack the other directly. Shuddering to think what might become of Cornelia should that happen, Jayson kept going, confidence coming from the fact that as long as the Solaced was with them, the Dwarves wouldn't dare touch them.

And on their second day of travel, just as the shrine rose up over a hill, night began to spread its way across the sky; it's stars shining brightly across a dark tapestry of nothingness. As they stared down at the dilapidated building that look as though it would collapse at any moment, it was Dau'Mahl who spoke up and put what Jayson was thinking to words.

"Do we go in now, or wait?"

They both turned to Calida, who shook her head slightly. "No. It's a crime to enter there at night, and there are no exceptions. Death is the only punishment." Her voice dropped to sad whisper and her head hung slightly when she spoke the last sentence.

"Then wait it is." Dau'Mahl muttered, as he quietly withdrew a blanket to sleep on from his small satchel. Jayson returned a few moments later with tinder and logs from the nearby woods, set them on a small patch of dirt, and started trying to make a fire. It had taken him at least an hour to get it right last time, and by then Calida, the only person interested in talking to him, was already asleep. Grumbling, he knelt down beside the pile of wood with his flint in hand, when Dau'Mahl cleared his throat, signaling him to move. The Elf knelt down beside the fire just as Jayson had (but with a touch more grace), stared at it for a quick moment and then spoke, his voice seeming to echo throughout the area.

"_Hidden flames, reveal thyself and raze what I command you. **Fire!**"_

The tinder quickly burst into a small fire, and spread unnaturally fast throughout the pile. Jayson stared at it, stunned slightly, and turned his head slowly to the Elf.

"Why didn't you do that last time?" He asked, rather annoyed.

"I found it funny." Dau'Mahl replied, with the closest thing to a smile Jayson had seen on his face so far.

"I found it funny…" Jayson mimicked as he watched their guide walk off to try and forage some food. They had been eating the food they had packed for the past two days, but he knew they would run out of that eventually, and the chances of being close to a town when that happened was relatively slim. Dau'Mahl had a wide array of knowledge about wild plants and roots that were edible, so he was the logical choice to send on food hunts, leaving Calida and Jayson alone by the fire.

"So," Calida said after a short period of silence, "why'd you decide to join the journey?"

"Uhh, well, it wasn't really me that decided…" Jayson said sheepishly. He was still getting used to being with the Solaced, a humbling figure almost as legendary as the Light Warriors themselves.

"Really?" Calida snapped to attention, her eyes wide with shock. "They forced you to go!"

"N-No!" He stammered. Calida had gotten the wrong idea. "No, I signed up for it, and the High Council picked me as the best choice. No one forced me!"

"Oh…" She said, a relieved smile spreading on her face. "I thought you were."

"Nope. I'm here 'cause I wanna be." He replied, and he couldn't help but smirk as he did.

They talked a little bit longer before Dau'Mahl came back and convinced them to put the blaze out, lest it attract unwanted attention in the middle of the night. He raised his hand towards the now burning embers that had once been a roaring fire and started muttering something, but Jayson threw a small bucket of water and doused the blaze before the Elf had a chance to use his magic. Basking in the fact that he had one-upped Dau'Mahl, he lay down that night content with himself. He was close to falling asleep, and Calida's quiet breathing behind him was slowly lulling him ever closer. He jumped a bit when she made a strange noise unintentionally, but she just muttered something and drifted back into her dreams.

Himself half-dreaming already, his mind jumped all over the events leading up to where he was, and how significant everything seemed to be in retrospect. Even some stupid thing Kirtus had said when they first saw Dau'Mahl in Padrone's school struck him as something strangely important. Finally, with the bright summer stars gazing at them from above, he drifted into a long, peaceful sleep.

----------------------

That didn't seem to last long at all.

"Ugh… Five more minutes…" He mumbled as he twisted over onto his side to shield his eyes from the barely rising sun.

"We have to get moving." Dau'Mahl said, as if that fact alone made getting up an irrefutable idea. His voice was awake and alert, as if he had actually slept in.

"I think he's right Jayson." Calida piped up groggily, as she tried to untangle the mess that was her already uncontrollable hair. "This might take a while."

The young knight sighed, knowing that he could refuse to do things for Dau'Mahl, but he had to listen to the Solaced. He sat slowly and blinked, letting his eyes adjust to the light. The Chaos Shrine loomed in the distance, still looking as fragile as it did the past evening, but slightly less menacing due to the light that was starting to fall on it.

"So, have you ever actually been to the shrine before?" Jayson asked. The previous night had made him more comfortable around Calida, and he managed to find his voice.

She bowed her head down slightly and her brow creased in concentration. "Once, I think. I was really young, but I remember the priests taking me somewhere important." She hesitated for a moment, looking at the temple that was looming ever closer. "Yes, I'm sure I was, because they said that it was were my journey would begin and end."

"End?" Dau'Mahl asked, looking back.

"W-well, I have to come back here when we light all the Orbs." She said quickly, her eyes were suddenly wide for some reason, and she seemed to tense up. After her first sentence though, she appeared to calm down slightly, although there was still a nervous edge to her voice. "I have to come back here and pray to Munen, so he knows that I succeeded."

"Then what?" The Elf pushed on as they passed through the main gates.

"Then the world is saved." She replied, a look of sudden determination in her face. Dau'Mahl looked at her for another moment, then accepted the answer and turned his gaze back towards the shrine, not even a minute away.

'_Talk about mood swings…'_ Jayson thought to himself, looking back towards where they were headed; he didn't think Calida was in the mood to talk right now. And as he did, he saw something that made his blood curl.

A large, burly figure in the shape of a man dressed in pure black was approaching them from the temple. It's heavy armor, which left almost no part of it visible, made a loud, hollow 'clank' with every step he took, which seemed to be at least twice as fast as any living man could move in that armor. A massive sword was swinging at its waist, and Jayson had serious doubts that he would even be able to move it, yet it didn't hinder this thing at all. But that wasn't what made the hair on his neck stand on end. Beneath the dark helmet, glowing ominously beneath the facemask was a pair of blood-red eyes, with yellow pupils staring straight at them, which seem to cut right through him and peer into his very soul.

It stopped about five feet in front of them, and made a jerking motion with his head, as if expecting something. No one moved. Dau'Mahl's ears were tense and erect, and Jayson saw his arm reach down behind his cloak to his sheath. Cautiously, he gripped his own sword, wondering if he'd even be able to focus well enough to survive a fight with this thing, let alone win. The creature grew impatient, and grabbed the hilt of it's over-sized sword with a high-pitched screech of a sword hadn't be used in a long time. He drew his to try fight it, knowing he may not be able to win, but could give Calida enough time to run. But just then, as the monster before them raised it's blade to take a wide, reaping swing, a voice shouted out from behind him.

"_Sein de'ne parvaja!_ _Meka no vay. Mekav re Solaced, huy a re godra reling, exeno byr ri rold Munen! Havriro derav Kelfer, ro fermeke Munen raith!"_

It was Calida.

And once she spoke, the creature stopped. It sheathed its sword, nodded towards her, and turned back towards the temple. Jayson put his sword away with a look of awe on his face, it just now occurring to him now how fast he was breathing. Dau'Mahl took his hand out from under his cloak, but still held a fighting stance and continued to stare at the thing.

"He won't attack you now." Calida said with the utmost confidence. The Elf looked at her briefly, then eased up, though his eyes still watched the figure cautiously. The group hesitated for more than a few moments, but eventually followed the armored monster, per Calida's assurance that it was safe, into the Chaos Shrine. "This is a strange place. Stay close together."

Any thought Jayson had five minutes earlier about this place not being creepy in daylight was instantly dissolved, as the sun threw disturbing shadows along it's large, uneven face. The few windows that were on the structure were black with dust and grime, and through them he could've sworn he saw another pair of red and yellow eyes glare at them for a split second before disappearing into the darkness. Darkness that also enveloped the entrance, which was at least twice as large as it needed to be, hiding everything that was inside from his view. Praying that the doorway wouldn't collapse on him as passed under, like it looked like it would do, he let out an audible gasp as he entered the shrine.

Everything looked perfect. There were no signs that the building could collapse at any moment, nor that people had even been in here. For nothing, not even dust, or sunlight, or warmth seemed to be able to enter this sanctuary. Torches were lined against the walls of the temple, and dispersed evenly through the open areas, providing some light and little heat, which made the temple a sharp contrast to the warm bright day they just left. Deep red tiles went from the doorway straight ahead to meet with another, the panels perfectly straight, outlined by tall pillars that reached higher than the building seen from the hilltop the night before would have allowed. Much higher.

He blinked, staring at them. _'But… They're too big. No way, this doesn't make sense.'_ Rushing back a few steps, he left the temple, darkness covering the passageway inside again, and ignoring the sudden blast of heat and light, he looked up towards the roof. He was right, there was no way pillars that tall could be inside this thing, it just didn't work. Looking around in a slightly stunned state, he also noticed that the inside of the shrine looked much larger than it's exterior would suggest, and unless there was a second layer of brick just for the inside, the inside was in better condition too. Realizing that Calida had said to stay close together, he decided to leave this mystery for another time, and ran back through the dark veil into the temple to catch up with them, only to come to another startling conclusion.

They weren't there.

He didn't understand, he'd only been gone ten seconds, he should at least be able to see where they were going, or hear the echoing footsteps of the thing that was leading them. But there was nothing there, nothing, nothing but an empty room and a deafening silence. He started forwards, the sound reverberating within the entrance hall, which was getting eerier by the moment. Twice he could've sworn he saw a shape dart through the sparse light, as if the shadows themselves could move, but by the time his eyes turned to look, it was gone. And no matter what he did, he couldn't help but feel like he was being watched, like someone just outside his line of vision was perpetually staring at him. Gathering his courage, he made towards the large door ahead of him, believing that it was the most likely route they had taken. He pushed on the massive doors, moving them aside, and entered a much smaller chamber.

There wasn't very much to it. Everything, the floor, the walls, the pillars, everything was made from simple granite stones with no hint of adornment, a complete inverse to the grandeur hall he'd just left. A highly raised platform stood at the far end of the room, which wasn't all that far really, and had curved stairs that led onto it on either side, hugging the edge of the dais. He turned to leave, when something caught his eye, something that compelled him to stay, to fight the overwhelming urge that he shouldn't be there. In the center of that podium, sitting serenely on a pedestal, was a round crystal ball. It was pure black, and Jayson saw as he climbed the steps towards it, it did not reflect any of the light that shone upon it. His eyes were attracted to another object there, one that he hadn't seen before with the platform blocking his view of it. Just in front of the spherical crystal was a second pedestal, it's head tilted slightly away from it, was a large, dusty book that looked like it hadn't been used in ages, and had been around for much longer. This finally brought him back to reality, and he turned towards the doorway to make his long awaited exit, when he literally jumped back.

Someone was staring at him.

Much like the warrior that had more or less greeted them upon their arrival, this person was covered in pure black robes that gave them both an almost evil look, with the same red and yellow eyes. Unlike the warrior however, the person that stood before him didn't wear an excessive amount of armor, merely some robes, a pair of metal gauntlets and a long, flowing cloak. He could also see this one's face, and had the situation been less dire, he might've blushed slightly, for it was a female face that looked back upon him, and a beautiful one at that. Beautiful, until you got a good look. The shade Jayson had attributed to the darkness of the room and the coloring of her robes was, as he quickly realized, neither of those. Her face, her hair, every bit of skin he could see, was all the same deep black as the rest of her, save for her eyes, which Jayson noticed had the same piercing attribute that the warrior had, and he nearly succumbed to the pressure of being held under that stare. She took a step forward, and though she said nothing, Jayson somehow knew what she wanted.

"I-I'm here with… th-the Solaced." He stammered, slowly descending the stairs, his arms raised slightly to show he was unarmed. Her expression didn't change, but he felt an aura of irritation that followed an inadequate answer surge through the room, and forced himself to continue. "I don't know where they went. I… I thought they might be in here, and I came to look and… and I saw that and I just had to see it more closely."

This time her expression did change, and Jayson's stomach clenched as it did, for her brow furrowed, and the aura she seemed to emanate grew stronger. "I didn't know I wasn't supposed to be in here." He was desperately trying to find a way out of this situation now, and he saw the figure turn around, grudgingly, to lead him. And then he felt something whiz past his head, like a flash of lightning. Turning to see what it was, he saw two strands of his own blond hair fall gently to the ground, as if they'd merely been dropped. And looking back further, he saw something almost made him lose the small breakfast he'd had that morning.

Sticking out of the wall, still vibrating with the impact, was a short knife made of a material he didn't recognize. Swallowing hard, he looked back towards the woman, which only made the situation worse. She hadn't turned at all, she was not looking at him in any way, and her cloak was only barely swaying with the motion exerted not even two seconds ago. Again she said nothing, but he understood what this meant better than he understood anything in his life. She could kill him. She could kill him, and it would be easy. Feeling what had to be an instinctive survival precaution, he grabbed his sword, and waited for her to start moving again before he drew in a flash and was lunging at her in another. He aimed quickly, targeting the neck. He had never been an overly violent person, but nevertheless, he intended to kill this person, and she had almost done to him. He braced himself for the slick and disgusting impact of steel tearing through skin, but instead, felt his sword hit and stop dead.

She had blocked it. With two fingers, she had used her gauntlet to block a sword like it was a toy, a toy that hovered not even a centimeter from her smooth skin. Her turned her head back to look at him, and Jayson felt a rush of terror like never before when he saw her eyes. They weren't angry, insulted, or even annoyed, they were the eyes of someone who had waited a long time to crush something, and was finally getting their wish. She wasn't chastising him at all, she was instead mocking him!

He stood frozen to the spot as she grasped the blade of the sword with her free hand, taking care not to touch the edge, and using her fingers to act as leverage, flung the sword out of his hands effortlessly. Admiring her own handiwork, she allowed herself a slight grin, only to turn back towards him to have it wiped off of her. He didn't know what made him do it, what kind of reserve courage he had used, but he punched her squarely on the side of the head with everything he had. Which as it turned out, wasn't enough.

She didn't fall, she didn't even sway. He just rubbed her cheek with her slender fingers, a look of awe on her face, which gave way to anger as she raised her head back up to level with his, and the last thing he remembered was seeing a muscle above her mouth twitch slightly. He hadn't seen her move, or felt the impact of her attack, but he was now reaping the consequences of his foolish actions. He had attacked her first and lost, and now he was at her complete and utter mercy.

* * *

I know I said that we'd get to the journey in this chapter, but after spending so much time visualizing this scene in my head, I couldn't help but do it justice. Besides, wekinda got to seethejourney, albeit only a small bit of it.

**Fatalis Prime **– Damn, I had meant to mention this last chapter. The Blitzball mentioned in Chapter 2 isn't the same as the one you remember. In fact, I've never played Final Fantasy X, and I know next to nothing about Blitzball, I just wanted to add in some sort of sport to show that Jayson isn't a machine who pretty much lives swordplay. Normal sports just felt too ordinary for a Final Fantasy world though, and for lack of a better idea, I went with Blitzball. It's unlikely to be mentioned later, and if it is, it will be of little relevance.

**SmurfKiller** – Thanks. This is more of a sequel to FF1, and has no connection to the other games. And there's no hidden meaning behind it, "Firion" was just a name I picked, nothing more to it.


	4. Ch 4: On Our Way

I in no way, shape or form take credit for creation or ownership of the Final Fantasy series. That belongs to Square-Enix.

* * *

"Ugh… What… What hit me…?" 

Jayson groaned audibly as he slowly opened his eyes, his mind reeling to try and figure out where he was. He seemed to bein a small bed within a long, rectangular room filled with other beds of similar design: rich and elaborate, like everything else in the Shrine. His shirt and light armor hung lazily over a chair to his right, his sword propped against it. Red tiles covered the floor, with a long carpet of even deeper red pulled along the feet of the beds, probably so whoever used these beds wouldn't have to walk barefoot on the stone floor. Tapestries hung on the opposite wall from Jayson, a distance of roughly ten feet, each depicting a different event in the Light Warrior's journey. Their epic battle against Kary in the Gurg Volcano, their journey across the Lymari Desert, Garaile's duel with his brother Garland in the heart of the Chaos Shrine.

'_Wait… I think… I've seen that place before…'_

Jayson squinted at the adornment on the wall, trying to figure out why the grey, stone-brick walls, the tall raised podium, or the sphere as dark as night all seemed so recognizable. He scanned the rest of the tapestry for a clue, and his eyes fell on the other three Light Warriors gathered together in the background. Kai, the brash monk who always let his fists do his talking for him watched the battle anxiously, ready to leap in to help Garaile at any moment. Nirav, the ever-silent mage, watched the fight with vague interest, as if it hardly affected him (or her, there really was no way of knowing). And Renea, the first and only Red Mage in history, and Garaile's future lover, stood with her hand on her rapier, also ready to assist the young knight if needed. He stared at her for a moment, as there was something familiar about the way her long, white hair flowing around her shoulders, about how she always seemed poised and ready to betray her beautiful appearance and attack on sight.

He was in the middle of that thought when it all came back. His eyes whipped back to the tapestry to the black orb on a pedestal, the Orb of Darkness, and he suddenly realized why that scene appeared familiar. Awe fused with disbelief, as his mind rushed to take all these new revelations in. He had SEEN the Orb of Darkness; He had entered the room where two brothers fought to the death. Light-headedness began to sink in just as the door creaked open, and his resolve to show no weakness stiffened as a cloaked figure stepped through it.

"Finally awake are we?" Dau'Mahl asked, and Jayson was fully aware that it wasn't a question that he expected an answer to. The Elf stepped along the carpet, making sure not to look towards Jayson, until he reached the foot of his bed and stopped, tilting his head slightly to eye him. "You've been unconscious for some time now."

"How long?" The knight asked rather forcibly, his patience unusually thin.

"I'd hazard a guess at about… all day." He replied coldly, staring a hole through Jayson. "It's a good thing for you that the Solaced is still undergoing the ritual."

'_Still? What are they doing?' _Jayson decided to probe a little further. "I see… So how'd I get here?"

"You were taken here by one of those… things." Dau'Mahl's mouth twisted slightly, showing he didn't think highly of whatever they were. "You were lucky enough to mention your connection to the Solaced. Otherwise, you'd be dead."

The question "How do you know?" floated across Jayson's mind, but he ignored the urge to challenge the Elf. Instead, he saw Dau'Mahl turn towards him with a scary glint in his eye.

"The more pertinent question here is what exactly you were doing there in the first place." Jayson went slightly rigid, not enough to be noticed he hoped, but enough to cause a slight jerk in his stomach. Whether or not Dau'Mahl had any power over him didn't matter if Calida decided to send him back for not listening when he should have. "You were told to stay close to the Solaced, yet you didn't. You decided to wander off, playing your own little game, completely oblivious to the dangers of your surroundings or the consequences of your actions. We were already late, and it was difficult to convince the Solaced that you would be fine and that we should continue. One of the requirement of coming on this journey was to listen to the Solaced every word, was it not?"

Jayson stared into the Elf's dark eyes with a lump of guilt in his throat. He knew he had screwed up, but he would never admit it to Dau-Mahl, no matter what. Minutes seemed to pass before he finally muttered, "…Won't happen again." which seemed to satisfy their guide. Straightening himself up, Dau'Mahl headed about two beds away from Jayson and laid down on his back, closing his eyes and letting out a tired sigh. They stayed like that for ten minutes before Jayson finally broke the silence.

"Hey." He called, and Dau'Mahl opened one eye to look at him. Jayson continued to stare at the ceiling as he talked. "What were those things? Those things dressed in black."

Dau'Mahl let out a long breath, closing his open eye in thought. "Quite honestly, I don't know. I've traveled all across Cornelian lands, and I've never encountered anything that… disturbing. All living creatures on this planet have a life force, a kind of mana that sustains them, allowing them to live. But these… I sense no life in them, none at all."

"So they're dead?" Jayson exclaimed, turning his head to look at the Elf. "You're saying we have a bunch of zombies walking around the Chaos Shrine?"

"I didn't say that." Dau'Mahl replied. "I've heard that there are ways to avoid having your mana detected. Spells, special armor, things of that sort can do it. Just because you can't sense a life force doesn't mean it's not there. Although this is the first time I've ever seen something like it."

"What about in Elfland?" Jayson suggested. "I've heard stories about it. There's supposed to be all sorts of magical stuffrunning around overthere. You must've seen something like them before."

"I've… never been to Elfland." Dau'Mahl said slowly, a twinge of shame in his voice. "I was born there, I think. But I can't remember anything about it."

"That's weird." Jayson muttered. "Where're you from then?"

Dau'Mahl growled softly as he sat up, he ears perked as if listening to something. "That's not important."

"So what! I asked you a question, I expe-" Jayson stopped halfway through his sentence as the door swung open again. Calida stepped in, dressed in a red robe and looking as if she had just ran to Cornelia and back, followed by an elderly looking man and the black garbed warrior from earlier. Seeing Dau'Mahl and Jayson tense up at his entrance, the man gave a dismissive wave of his hand and the warrior left.

"Jayson…?" Calida said quietly, seeing him for the first time and offering him a very weak smile. Her eyes kept drooping down, as if she'd fall asleep right there, but she managed to keep them up. "I heard… what happened… You're okay? That's good…"

"Yeah, I seem to still be in one piece." He answered with a smirk, sitting up ever so slightly, since he was still a bit sore. Calida's weak smile grew a little more full when he assured her he was fine. "What's wrong with you though? You look really beat."

"I'm… just tired, that's all." She said groggily, swaying back and forth a bit as her eyes fluttered shut once more. "The ritual is exhausting… but it's worth it, right?"

"I guess…" He said, not really sure of what he was supposed to say. "Here, I'll get up and help you."

Jayson started to climb out of the bed, when a sharp pain shot across his stomach, and he let out a small gasp when he noticed that he couldn't seem to move any further forward. He pulled the blanket away, throwing it unceremoniously to the end of the bed to reveal a large, purple bruise that covered well over half of his abdomen. Calida gasped audibly, and Dau'Mahls eyebrows rose slightly as they saw the unsightly wound.

"You're lucky you got only that." The old man spoke for the first time. He was a bit smaller than Calida, with a long, flowing beard that nearly reached his knees. His crooked back was covered with a red robe the same hue as the carpet on the floor, and lined with golden embroidery along the seams. "If you hadn't mentioned you were here with the Solaced, you'd have been killed."

"So I've heard…" Jayson sighed, as he felt the lump in his throat start to return.

"Well, I've had some salve put on it, so you should be well enough to move before sundown." He said in a wheezing voice. "Solaced, you had best lay down. You need your rest."

"A good nap would be nice Father…" She muttered, nearly collapsing before the man grabbed her and led to the bed beside Jayson. All three men in the room turned away as Calida quickly slipped out of her robe and into a white nightgown that she had brought along for the journey. Not even two minutes after she laid her head down on the pillow and adjusted her blankets, her breathing grew quieter and slowed down, signifying that she was asleep.

"Now as for you." The man said in a threatening tone, turning towards Jayson. He simply stared at him for a moment or two with eyes that seemed to know much more than they should before continuing in a hushed yell. "I don't know what you thought you were doing in there, but by the grace of Munen, you are lucky that I wasn't the one that found you! I promise that I wouldn't have been so lenient!"

"I… I'm sorry…" He offered, but the man continued.

"Of all the places you could have gone!" The man stopped briefly to let out an exasperated sigh, then kept going. "Do you even realize where you were! The most sacred chamber anywhere on this continent, and you had to pick that one! You… You…"

"Father Kelfer." Dau'Mahl spoke up, and the old man just whipped around quickly with a less-than-fatherly, "What!" but the Elf continued unfazed. "Do not be so harsh on him. He's far from the brightest person here," Jayson scowled, "but he does have some useful attributes. I sent him outside of the Shrine to make sure we weren't being followed, as I'm sure you're aware that there have been attempts at the lives of the Solaced in the past. If you're going to take your anger out on someone, take it out on me for ordering him to leave and subsequently getting lost."

Kelfer looked at Dau'Mahl, who stood easily a foot and a half taller above the priest, and muttered in a slow threatening tone. "I'll have you know Elf--."

"That you hold no power over me, for my participation in this journey isn't recognized by the church, and that you are bound by oath not to touch a single hair on my head." Dau'Mahl interupted, leaving Kelfer's mouth moving, but not saying anything as he grasped for a retort. "He could have done something wrong, true, but he didn't, and thus I don't see why you are taking your anger out on someone who has no idea what he's doing here."

"F-Fine then. Have it your way!" He turned around walked out the door, turning back to look at them one last time. "The Solaced is tired, but it's nothing more than spiritual exhaustion. She'll be as good as new tomorrow morning, and then you're all leaving, regardless of whatever circumstance you can come up with." He slammed the door shut as said those last words, making Calida stir in her sleep a bit before snuggling back into her bed. Jayson felt a bit of relief wash over him as the chance of her waking up was averted, then turned to Dau'Mahl.

"What was that all about? Why'd you help me?" He asked. He couldn't understand why the man who had spoken to him no more than three times since leaving Cornelia would lie to one of the leading members of the church just to defend him.

"Because," the guide explained, "if I hadn't, and you were sent back, we would have to go back to Cornelia as well, just to get someone who was bad enough to lose to you at whatever contest you used to decide Guardianship. This way, not only to get to keep the apparently best choice for the Guardian of the Solaced, but we save a good four days travel."

"Gee, and here I was thinking that you were starting to like me…" Jayson said, his voice heavy with sarcasm.

"I could easily find the Father and tell him the truth."

'_Crap…'_ Jayson lowered his head slightly, trying to sallow his pride. "No, you don't have to… I'm… sor--… Thanks."

"That's better." He said, climbing into the bed he was sitting on. "Now get some rest, we make for the mountains tomorrow."

'_Mountains…? This was not in the job description…' _Laying his head down on his pillow, Jayson shut his eyes and tried to stop his mind for reeling long enough to fall asleep. He spent nearly twenty minutes trying to force the strangely familiar image of Renea in the main chamber of the Chaos Shrine out of his head, at which point his brain started to calm down, and ten minutes later, he joined his two companions in sleep.

----------------------

'_Okay, calm down Jayson… How hard can this be, right?'_

But despite his sincerest effort, Jayson couldn't manage to calm himself down. Maybe everything that had happened in the past few days was finally getting to him? No. He decided that couldn't be it. He wasn't about to go crazy yet. He hoped.

They had left the Shrine at sunrise, once again Dau'Mahl and Calida had been up before him. As Father Kelfer had said, Calida seemed perfectly fine when Jayson woke up, though he noticed she had eaten a little more than usual at the breakfast Kelfer had prepared for them. Outside that, she seemed completely back to normal. Well, about as normal as the savior of the world could be. Dau'Mahl, on the other hand, seemed the same as always. Quietly leading them towards the mountains, speaking only to answer Calida's questions or warn her about obstacles she needed to look out for. Most of the time he acted like Jayson wasn't even there, which made it hard to believe that the Elf may have very well saved his life the night before.

"C'mon, let's keep moving. The further we get before sundown, the better." Dau'Mahl pointed out, "There's a small alcove along the path where we can rest. If we make it there, we'll set up camp for the night."

With that, he swung himself up onto a chest high ledge, took a few steps forward, then tilted his head a bit to watch the other two. Jayson throw his satchel up onto the ledge and took a quick running start. Leaping into the air, he twisted so that he was horizontal with the ledge, and then at the last second, put his hand on the edge and used his momentum tospin himselfonto the top, landing in a kneeling position. He smirked at Dau'Mahl, who, much to Jayson's chagrin, didn't really seem to care. He reached down to help Calida, straining as he pulled her up. His stomach hadn't quite healed over yet.

"So, what's Cornelia like?" They had been walking in silence along the mountain path for so long, Calida's question almost didn't register.

"What? Oh. Uh, well… It's… kinda big, I guess." Jayson replied, suddenly aware of how hard it was to describe the simplest of things. "Tons of people from all over the place every day, bunch of merchants ya know? Uh… Is there anything you'd like to know specifically?"

"No, not really." Calida said, "I just didn't get to see much of it when I was there for the ceremony, and I'd heard all these fantastic stories about it."

"Didn't the Sol-- I mean, didn't you come to Cornelia for a month or two a few years back?" Jayson asked.

"Twelve years ago." Calida told him, smiling a bit at how 'twelve' got turned into 'a few', then sighing. "But I don't remember much, I was only four."

"Yeah, I was seven. I **think** I remember it…" He strained, trying to dig up a memory he wasn't sure if he had. "It would've been a huge event, not many people'd pass up the chance to see you."

"I guess…" Calida muttered, slightly blushing at her own fame as usual. She was snapped out of it however, when she walked straight into Dau'Mahl and fell backwards rather hard.

"Hey, warn us when you do that!" Jayson yelled as he helped Calida get up, who was nursing an elbow that at met a rock at a quite uncomfortable speed. The Elf paid no attention to him, and simply continued starting at one spot on the ground. "Hey, fairy boy, I'm talking to you!"

Dau'Mahl knelt down and started examining the spot. After a few moments, his ears tensed and he quickly came back to his feet. "We move. Now." He said with a newfound intensity, and took off at twice the speed he had been moving before.

"Wait, Dau'Mahl, what's wrong?" Calida called as she ran to catch up to him.

"Someone's been here." Was all he replied.

"So what?" Jayson demanded, catching up to the Elf. "This is the only mountain pass through here, you said it yourself. Why is someone else coming through here such a big deal? Tons of traders use this path, and you know it."

"We passed a caravan heading west on our way to the Shrine, and it rained for a while when we were there." He explained. Jayson wasn't sure about that, but as he had been unconscious for well over half their stay, he wasn't going to question it. "Whoever made that footprint was here recently, and I can only think of one group of people who it would belong to. Why'd they come back…?"

"Who?" Calida asked, having finally caught up.

"Thieves. Bandits. A group composed of those and worse." Dau'Mahl said, an unusually nervous tone to his voice. "They aren't the type of people I, or anyone else here, wants to meet."

"I can handle a few thieves." Jayson muttered indignantly, which caused Dau'Mahl to stop dead and turn around.

"A few? Maybe. At least a hundred? I don't think so." The Elf reminded him. "You don't seem to understand what we're up against here. They'll kill you and I, me especially, without a second thought. As for the Solaced…" Dau'Mahl stole a quick glance at Calida. "She'll envy us."

"W-what do you mean?" Calida asked, genuinely afraid. Whatever traits the ritual had awakened within her, courage in the face of death wasn't one of them. "If you two are d-dead, then how can I…? How…?"

Dau'Mahl simply looked at her with an expression of mild pity, and in a voice completely different than his own muttered, "There are fates worse than death…" to almost no one but himself.

The three stood there for a solemn moment, when Jayson finally spoke up.

"And what are the odds of them finding us?"

"That is the one thing we have going for us." He replied, back to his usual self. "The mountains are vast, and I doubt they'd be around here if they didn't think a caravan was coming through. With luck, we might not even meet them."

"That, you arrogant pile of crap, is where you're wrong."

All three travelers looked up along the ridge, towards the voice that had just interrupted there conversation, all of them thinking the exact same thing.

They'd been found.

* * *

Yes, I am alive. To be quite honest, I just couldn't bring myself to stick to writing this chapter. I have a fantastic vision of the plot later on, but I've only know come to realize that I have no idea how it's getting there. Anyways, hope you enjoyed this chapter, I'm sure I'll get around to the next installment eventually.

**SmurfKiller - **King Steven and King Argoth are two different Kings. Argoth ruled during the time of the Light Warriors, and Steven is the King now. Yes, I know Steven isn't a very Kingly name, but it's only there as an homage to King Steve of 8-Bit Theatre, definitely one of the best Final Fantasy webcomics ever created. I know such things are of quite low taste in a story like this, but the King doesn't play a very large role as of now, and I'm not sure about later. And yes, the descriptions I used as Jayson enters the castle were rather misleading, and I apologize for that. "Your" and "you" were meant to be used in a more general way, not in reference to any one person. Outside all of that, glad you enjoyed the story. :)


	5. Ch 5: Secret of Dau'Mahl

I in no way, shape or form take credit for creation or ownership of the Final Fantasy series. That belongs to Square-Enix.

* * *

"…Dammit…" 

Jayson muttered a few stronger curses under his breath as well, none of which he was exceptionally proud of, but being caught in a narrow passage with bandits on one side and a steep drop on the other wasn't exactly something that made him want to write poetry. Grasping the hilt of his sword, Jayson did a quick check of the area above them. It was about ten feet up a steep slope, with craggy rocks roughly lined along the top and trees behind them in what could only have been a small plateau. There were three bandits; At least, three he could see. The two standing on the edge of the abrupt incline were twins likely, since both had identical, sleeveless shirts stretched over their scrawny bodies and red cloth wrapped around their heads, leaving only their small, beady eyes visible. The third however, looked much different. Not only was he a foot taller, he was also at least a foot wider, granting him the appearance of a well-fed man, but their was no mistake that the bulge around his arms and shoulders was all muscle. The larger one opened his mouth to speak, and his harsh, raspy voice made it clear that he was the one who had called to them before.

"Long time, no see boy. How've ya been?"

Jayson didn't quite understand who the man thought he was talking to, until he turned his head and saw Dau'Mahl, at which point he nearly turned back around out of fear. The normally calm face of the Elf was, quite simply, etched with hatred. His eyes had narrowed significantly, he was baring his teeth slightly, and every line that his Elven blood managed to smooth out was visible. Looking around Dau'Mahl, he wasn't sure who Calida was more afraid of; The bandits or Dau'Mahl.

Calida.

He had to protect her. Even before Dau'Mahl told them what the bandits would do to her, he was prepared to protect her against anything, but now more than ever he felt that desire grow stronger. He called her over quietly, and though fear seemed to have paralyzed her for a few seconds, she managed to sneak behind their guide and hide behind Jayson, her eyes wide with fright. He looked back at her for a few seconds, gave her a (hopefully) encouraging nod when their eyes met, and then, gripping his sword tighter, he looked back up at the bandits. _'Your move.'_

"What? I go through all the trouble of getting away from my job to see you, and this is the greeting I get?" The larger man said. The two smaller bandits flanking him let out a small series of approving chuckles, but stopped the moment he began to speak again, slower, more calculated, a sick and twisted smile on his face. "I daresay the Halfling was more friendly than you."

At those words, Dau'Mahl's face hit an entirely new level of anger, and Jayson swore he saw a flash of red flames dance in his eyes. The two cronies let out howls of laughter, elbowing each other and repeating, "Good one boss" over and over, apparently sharing in some inside joke. "You bastard…" was all Dau'Mahl offered as a response.

"Now, now, let's not go off saying things we can't take back. Let's just get down to business, shall we?" The bandit leader said with an unusually dignified tone. "I thought I'd seen the girl somewhere, and I think I understand it now. Flaming red hair, a dress white as snow, cute round cheeks and an ass to match." The laughter started again, and this time Jayson started to feel some of Dau'Mahl's hatred towards these men. The man managed to calm the other two down by yelling, "Well, I'm not so sure about that last one" over the noise.

"But seriously though you two, do you not realize who she is?" He continued. "Well, you're both idiots, just I'll just up and tell you. I remember a few weeks back seeing a huge group of Paplan Knights marching from that monastery on the east side down towards Cornelia. And she was in the center of all of them. You know what that means right? Boys, feast your eyes on the Solaced of Light."

The laughter died at once as the other two turned to stare at Calida, who by this point was huddled against Jayson's back trying to hide. The smaller men then alternated between looking at Calida, their boss and each other, trying to figure out if he was right.

"She's pretty important, so I'd say we could really cash in on this one. I'd say… maybe two million Gil for us three." The two men's attention quickly turned to him, "Each." He added, drawing looks of amazement from them. "And a good million per head for the boys back at camp, for being such good pals."

"I'd be careful who you call 'friends', Ciaran…" Dau'Mahl muttered too calmly, too formally for the situation. The Elf lifted his head, and Jayson saw that his face was almost normal, save for his eyes, which still had murderous intent. He had completely transcended anger. "We both know what happened to the last two."

The man named Ciaran's eyes widened, as if hit with an unexpected blow. A sick smile, reminiscent of the one Ciaran wore when he spoke of the 'Halfling' spread across Dau'Mahl's face, as he pulled his sword out of it's sheath, and Jayson only saw a thin streak of black before it disappeared into his cloak. The bandit nodded with a grave sort of anger, and drew his sword as well, with the other two following soon after.

"Two years ago I was made the leader of this band. The moment I got in, I put a new rule into effect, a rule that said that no member of the Black Hearts was allowed to kill. Do you know why I made that rule Elf?" Ciaran said hastily, as if he was trying to say it all before his body lunged down the slope.

"Do I care?" Dau'Mahl called back, his breathing was starting to get heavy. He too wanted to start fighting right then and there.

"So that none of my boys sunk to your level." He said, and Jayson heard Calida gasp softly. Even Jayson edged slightly away from the Elf, who was by this point getting ready to somehow try and rush up the slope. "You guys, get the girl! Leave the Elf to me! This ends today, murderer." With that last word, the three bandits jumped onto the slope and started sliding towards their targets.

"Two down, one to go." Dau'Mahl muttered to himself, and that was the last Jayson heard him say, as the two smaller bandits rushed towards him.

"Get back!" He shouted at Calida, drawing his sword. The Solaced took a few shaky steps away, then broke into a quick run along the path a good ten feet, but Jayson noticed none of this. He was intently focused on the two opponents rushing down the hill towards him, one slightly ahead of the other and about two feet apart. He smirked slightly to himself. He knew that formation. _'Swinging Sandbag exercise, don't fail me now.Focus…'_

The young knight knew that regardless of how much training he had under Padrone, these men were a lot more experienced than he was. He knew that out of all the things he could possibly do, they would be able to predict and counter almost every one easily, especially since there were two of them. However, they apparently didn't expect him to whirl around quickly and lunge at them backwards as soon as they hit flat ground. Time seemed to slow down for Jayson as he flew through the air, and after what felt like forever, he finally saw the first bandit's waist alongside him.

'_Here we go!'_ He thought to himself, and pulled his sword backwards towards the unarmored midriff, ready to strike. Knowing the move wouldn't work otherwise, he hastily twisted his sword so that the edge was perpendicular to his target, meaning the face of the blade would hit him, not the blade itself. He felt the impact send a wave of shock throughout the bandit, and just as the blade recoiled from the strike, Jayson pulled it forward, spun his body quickly, and hit the other bandit across the temple in the same manner. Following through on that last movement, Jayson swung for the back of the first bandit's head, but he wasn't fast enough and the man's small frame evaded the attack.

Time suddenly resumed its normal speed, and Jayson's back hit the wall of dirt and rock with a nasty thud, an impact that wasn't helped by the spin he had put on his body. Feeling the air rush out of him and the large bruise on his stomach start to ache, he tried to pull himself up before a bandit came over to finish what they started. His vision was clouded from the blow and he had some trouble getting his balance back, but he managed to stagger to his feet to see the bandit trying to wake his friend up. After failing to do so, he abandoned his attempts and climbed to his feet holding his stomach, lunging at the knight moments later. Jayson parried the blow and took a counter-swing, but the bandit ducked under it and brought his blade back up as Jayson was still recoiling from his counter.

Instead of trying to stop and bring his sword back, Jayson kept spinning with the momentum and barely managed to block the blade as he came full circle. The next moments were a blur to Jayson, and if he were ever asked to describe it later, he wouldn't be able to. Both he and the bandit had the same idea at the same time, and quickly dodged to their left, sliding their blades along the other to get around them. If only one of them had done this, it surely would've ended the fight right there, but since both attempted the move at once, the result was quite different. Jayson lunged and swung, striking the man on the shoulder and drawing a noticeable amount of blood on contact, causing the bandit to flinch and missJayson's neck, merely sending a long cut along his upper right arm. The bandit grabbed his shoulder instinctively, stumbled backwards a few steps and fell down the cliff, unconscious from the pain.

The knight was stunned, and barely even noticed when Calida rushed over to make sure he wasn't hurt too badly. Even after Dau'Mahl came over, panting and angry, telling them to run, it all felt like it was miles away, like he was watching someone else's life through their eyes. He eventually came back around, but by that time they had been running for a while, and he couldn't speak at all lest he waste precious breath. They ran for hours, until dusk was finally upon them, and only in a small, well-hidden cave did Dau'Mahl let them stop for the night.

----------------------

"There." Calida said softly, putting the final touches on the bandage wrapped around Jayson's arm. It had been at least a few hours since they had found the cave, and despite Dau'Mahl urging them to, they couldn't manage to sleep at all. Jayson had originally refused treatment for his arm, his pride not allowing him to be bothered but such a shallow cut. But eventually he felt a sickening pulse along the wound, and agreed to Calida's request to bandage it up before it became infected.

"Yeah… Thanks…" He replied, still in a state of mild shock. He may have very well killed a man earlier that day, and it was taking its mental toll quite heavily. Noticing the young girl reach for the wrappings for the third time to adjust them, he moved his arm away slightly. "It's fine. Don't worry."

Calidas had hung in midair for a moment, and then she slowly pulled it back, averting her eyes slightly. After a short while, she spoke again, but so softly Jayson had to strain his ears to hear her. "I'm sorry… I couldn't help…"

"Don't worry about it." The knight said, though he still sounded indifferent as a result of the mental strain he was under. "Besides, I'm the one who should apologize. Ya know, about before…" He glanced quickly at Dau'Mahl, but even more quickly regained his focus on Calida. He didn't want to think about the Elf right now.

"You already did, and I said it was fine. But still… All I did was run and hide and watch you get hurt. I should've helped you. I wish I could fight…" She continued, not feeling much better from Jayson's reassurances.

"It's just a scratch." He muttered, and finally realizing that the Solaced was really upset about this, added "And I said don't worry about it. If you had been fighting, I would've been worried about you getting hurt, and wouldn't have been able to concentrate. It's because you ran and hid that I only got this." Calida didn't reply.

Dau'Mahl was even less talkative than ever, going from barely acknowledging Jayson and Calida to outright ignoring them. He just sat and stared out towards the exit (which he couldn't actually see, since the cave had many twists and turns), occasionally turning to tend the fire small they were risking and not much else. Jayson had tried to ask about what had the bandit been talking about, but he quite simply refused to answer, and Jayson was still in a bad mood as a result.

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"_Here. We'll stay here for the night." Dau'Mahl said, stepping into the small cavern._

"_Finally…" Calida managed to spit out between gasps for air, collapsing to the ground and rubbing her sandal-covered feet._

"_Which leaves… one… last question…" Jayson said between breaths. It seemed the Elf was the only person not overly affected by their run. "What… the hell… did that guy… mean…? He called you a 'murderer' "_

"_That's none of your concern." He replied, in a particularly foul mood. It seemed the man known as Ciaran had managed to escape from the Elf._

"_Like hell it isn't…" Jayson muttered, wiping a bit of blood off his arm as he too collapsed from exhaustion. "Rather convenient that killing somebody slipped off your résumé until after you're left alone with the Solaced, don't you think?"_

"_Shut up." Dau'Mahl said, a dangerously threatening tone to his voice._

"_Or what? You'll kill me too?" Jayson provoked, becoming angry at Dau'Mahl for not telling them sooner, even though he knew he was in no rush to tell anyone about what he had done just a few hours before._

"_I said shut up!" Dau'Mahl cried out, yelling for the first time in Jayson's memory. _

"_Jayson, stop it." Calida piped up, but to no avail._

"_All this time I've been worried about getting attacked at night or from behind by godforsaken lunatic, and lo and behold, I've been walking around with one for the past week!" Jayson kept going, his anger and frustrations with the Elf all coming to a boil in this instance. "Even that bandit had more moral fiber than you do!"_

_That was apparently more than Jayson should have said. Before he could even react, the Elf had lunged at him and punched him across the face, knocking him to the ground. The young knight tried to scramble to his feet, but in an effort to stop the group from fighting, Calida leapt onto Jayson to hold him down. They struggled for a moment, but he managed to throw her off him into a wall, only to scramble up and have a sword placed at his throat. It was a strange weapon; Black, thin and curved ever so slightly, with short ridges along the front edge, each getting shorter as they approached the tip._

"_Listen to me human, and listen well, because I only feel like saying this once." Dau'Mahl muttered, his voice had returned to its normal volume, but the level of danger in it had done nothing but increase. "If you ever dare to compare to that bastard again, I swear upon whatever you hold sacred that I will make you regret it. I don't like you, but I know what's going through your head right now, so I'll let it go this time. And don't ask me questions about what he was talking about if you want to avoid trouble. I don't want to talk about it."_

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And so the other two members of the small group had left Dau'Mahl alone since then, not even asking him whether or not they should have a fire when he began to make one (With his magic no less, something Jayson was starting to question).

For two days they traveled hastily through the mountains, not daring to look back, always moving at a half-running pace through the crags and peaks, following a trail only Dau'Mahl seemed to know. They only stopped at dusk to find a safe place to spend the night, and for a few fifteen minute breaks for a light meal and a little covering of their trail through the day. It was on the second night of their wild run that Dau'Mahl spoke for the first time since the fight in the cave.

"Assuming everything goes well, by tomorrow afternoon we'll be out of the mountains, and with luck of the reach of the bandits. From there we have two choices. We can head straight through the marsh and save a day's trip if we're lucky, or we can veer south a little and cross the foothills there. It'll take a little longer, but it'll be an easier trip." He explained, making a point to speak to Calida and completely ignore Jayson.

"Are you sure the foothills are easier? I thought there were mountains there." Noticing both her comrades were looking at her with confused looks she hastily added, "I mean, that's what the scriptures said…"

"The scriptures you read must have been very old then." The guide explained. "There hasn't been a hill in that area that anyone would call a mountain in well over five hundred years. The foothills are out of the way, but it's a much easier walk."

"Well, let's go that way then. Anything to make this trip easier." She said, rubbing her sandaled feet. "I feel like the blisters on my blisters have blisters…"

"Gee, there's a nice image…" Jayson said with the closest thing to a smile he'd had in three days, although Calida didn't seem to catch the sarcasm.

"I-I said it only felt like that!" She stammered, her cheeks turning slightly pink. "I don't really have any… I think I don't, at least…"

Jayson finally cracked a smile at her overzealous response, and even Dau'Mahl's solemn face seemed to soften a bit. They planned long into the night about their future course. To the Elf's dismay, they were going to head straight for the small village of Taiga, located south of the foothills along the coast of the Aldean Sea, a town Dau'Mahl had neglected to mention. There they would have to stock up on supplies, because after Taiga there were no towns until Pravoka, their next destination. Once there, they would take a ship to Elfland, since due to Cornelia's war with the dwarves, it was one of the few ports accepting travelers from Cornelian lands. Not only that, but according to Calida, Elfland was situated comfortably between the Fire and Earth Shrines, making it an ideal place to go to.

Eventually, knowing they needed sleep, they all settled in quietly to try and drift away from their troubles for one night. Jayson and Dau'Mahl were blessed with quick release from their troubles that night, but Calida continued to squirm in the blanket she was sleeping in. No matter how hard she tried she couldn't get to sleep, any comfort she managed to find on the hard rock was quickly lost. Finally, she sat up in frustration and looked around their little makeshift 'camp', which was still visible by the dim, orangelight of the embers their fire had left. She looked at Dau'Mahl and Jayson, lingering slightly on the knight, who both sleeping soundly.

With a soft sigh she drew her knees up and rested her hand on it, wrapping her arms around them to keep the blanket on, and began to realize how difficult the journey was going to be. But unlike the other two, she wasn't worried about the obstacles that lay before them, she was confident that Jayson and Dau'Mahl would get her through those. But she was privy to knowledge about the Journey of Rebirth that they were not allowed to know, and that was were her doubts laid.

'_I wonder… When it comes down to it, will I be able to do it…?' _She thought to herself, '_Of course I will, I'm the Solaced, that's what I'm here to do, that's what I was born to do.' _A voiceinside her head answered, but the first voice continued on._'But still, the end is a long ways away. When the time comes, will I be too weak…? It's happened before, will it happen to me…?'_ She looked over at Jayson's sleeping face, _'Will I be strong enough to let it go…?'_

No one of course, answered these questions and she sat there wallowing in doubt for at least a half hour. Eventually though, she felt sleep tug strongly at her, and the young Solaced lay back down on the floor of the cave. The only sounds were that of Jayson's breathing, for Dau'Mahl had learned to be unnaturally silent somewhere in his life, and he didn't make a sound as he slept. She jumped slightly whe she heard what sounded like a twig snapping outside, but there was no other sound for a long time after, and she let it go.She took comfort in the sound she did hear constantly though, and nudging herself a bit closer to the knight, she finally fell into a peaceful sleep.

----------------------

Sure they were asleep, and moving hastily through the darkness, the man made his way back to the planned meeting spot. He had listened for hours, had followed them for days,but had finally gotten the information he was told to retreive. He stepped on a dry twig by accident while leaving the area, and after freezing in fear of being caught for a few moments, doubled his pace until he was quite a distance away. Groping his way through a well-hidden passage, he finally came to a small alcove illuminated by a small fire. Beside the fire sat none other than his boss, Cirian Faud, leader of the Black Hearts band of thieves.

"Well?" The portly man by the fire demanded, unconsciously rubbing a burn on his leg he'd received three days before from Dau'Mahl.

"Taiga Boss. They're making their way to Taiga." The smaller bandit answered, still heaving slightly trying to catch his breath. "They said where they were going after that, but I didn't hear it."

"Pravoka probably." Cirian muttered to himself. "That'll work just fine..."

"Umm, Boss?" The eavesdropper asked cautiously. "I don't suppose you... I mean, did anyone manage to find Aleric?"

"Tunamer and Heris found him as the bottom of the cliffs. He's breathing, orat least he was when I left. Don't know if he'll make it though, the fall tore open his shoulder something fierce." Washis reply, "But right now, we have bigger things to take care of. Gimme ten minutes and I'll have a letter ready to go, and you're the one that's gonna deliver it. I know you want your revenge, but trust me on this one. Take the fastest horse we've got, and get to Provoka as fast as you can, make sure to stay ahead of those three. There, go to a pub down by the wharf called the Salty Sailor, and look for a man named Gilgas. Give him that letter, and I assure you; The Elf and the kid will die, and the girl will be given to us."

* * *

I live! 

Yeah, well, I said not to expect me to update this often, or in any set pattern. Really my writing schedule is determined by when I can get the computer, and then whether or not I feel like writing or not. The next chapter might come sooner than this one did though, because we're close to a point I'm looking forward to writing. Albeit, I'm still working out some of the plot. :P

However though, there are two points I'd like to take this time to address. The first is a mistake on my part. In Chapter 3, I said that it took the group two days to make it to the Chaos Shrine. I've since realized that such a distance over such a short time is inconsistent with the rest of the story, and is far too short to simulate the massive world I'm attempting to create here. I'm going to go back and change it for anyone new who reads the story, so this is more just a tidbit for you awesome people who've already read up to this point. The second is a glitch I've noticed when I went back and went over my story. For one reason or another, to sometimes throw two or three of my words together to form one long string of nonsense, despite the fact that it looked fine in editing. This I'm going to fix on my editing trip as well, so I'm really just rambling at this point.

There's nothing for me to really put in my review reply section, other than thanks to Smurfkiller for reading it. So, until I return, I bid you farewell.


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